Faith In a Time of Socio-Political Disintegration, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Sept. 20, 2024

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org.

It’s been a couple of years since I touched on the real meaning of the term “faith” for Catholics, and I don’t think I’ve ever applied it to our political context. At this moment in the United States we are faced at the highest level with the impossibility of voting for a candidate who represents truth and justice; the only moral course open to us in voting is to choose the lesser of two evils. I cannot see the future, but I strongly suspect that there are not enough people who will think about things in this way to bring about even that sort of victory, and of course this raises two disturbing questions: First, does voting for the lesser of two evils justify politics as a legitimate Catholic priority? Second, does our current situation teach us that politics is not the answer to moral disintegration?

Let’s step back a little: What is the essence of our Catholic identity? It is, of course, what we call “the Faith”. But what is faith? As articulated in the New Testament, and most thoroughly in the letters of St. Paul, faith is not mere belief in a set of propositions. Instead, it is centered on the Person of Jesus Christ, and the word “faith” means belief in His teachings, trust in His promises, and obedience to His commands. Let’s give this some context and explore this understanding. …

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